New Delhi, Jan. 6 -- The final pilgrims of the 2025 Holy Year passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica late Monday, as the Vatican claimed success after more than 33 million people participated in this the rarest of Jubilees: opened by one pope and closed by another.

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday will officially close out the Holy Year by shutting the basilica's Holy Door, capping a dizzying year of special audiences, Masses and meetings that dominated his first months as pope and in many ways put his own agenda on hold.

For the Vatican, a Holy Year is a centuries-old tradition of the faithful making pilgrimages to Rome every 25 years to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and receive indulgences for the forgiveness of their ...